Florence "Connie" Conover Simpkins

August 18, 1928 - February 20, 2020

On Thursday, February 20th, our beautiful, wonderful mother Florence Conover Simpkins passed away at the age of 91 following a brief illness. “Connie” was born on August 18, 1928, in Palmerton, PA to Fred and Sophia Conover. She grew up in Naugatuck, CT and graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, where she met her husband Robert E. Simpkins. The Simpkins lived in New Jersey and Massachusetts and raised four daughters. In the late 1960s, Connie returned to college to earn teaching certifications in elementary and special education. She taught in South Jersey and at Grafton Center Elementary School in Grafton, MA, retiring in 1993. In her spare time, she sewed for her girls and made Irish knit sweaters for her family. After retirement, Connie moved to Weld, Maine where she volunteered with the Cooperative Extension Service, played bridge weekly, and enjoyed many adventures with her best friend and sister Beth Lundy. In September 2016, she moved to Mesa, Arizona to live near her daughter Debbe and family. Connie is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bob, and her brother Scott Conover. She will be lovingly remembered by her daughters and their families, Debbe Simpkins and Rick Hinrichs of Mesa, AZ, Ann Simpkins of Quincy, MA, Sue and Paul Sergeant of Allen, TX, and Carol and John Drohan of Ellington, CT, her sister Beth and husband Pat Lundy of Weld, ME, and cousin Mary Conover of Phoenix, AZ. She also leaves her eight grandchildren, Mike, Susanne, Katy (Mike), Lesley, Bronwyn (Tyler), Alec, Sammi, and Vicki, and three great grandchildren, James, Emery, and Amelia. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 18, 2020, at Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 6400 W. Del Rio St. in Chandler, AZ. Donations in Connie’s honor may be sent to Doctors Without Borders.